World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

UK withdraws from United Nations racism event




The UK has pulled out of a United Nations event marking the 10th anniversary of the World Conference on Racism in South Africa.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said the conference - and "the anti-Semitic atmosphere in which it was held" - was "a particularly unpleasant and divisive chapter in the UN's history".

Mr Hague said it was "not an event that should be celebrated".

The 2001 conference was dominated by angry confrontations over Israel.

[Mr Lick]

UK taking legal action against European Central Bank




The UK government is taking legal action against the European Central Bank (ECB) over a planned change to European banking rules that could harm the City of London.

The ECB's plans would require clearing houses that handle more than 5% of the market in a euro-denominated financial product to be based in the eurozone.

The Treasury says the move would contravene European law.

It has started proceedings at the European Court of Justice.

A Treasury spokesperson said: "This decision contravenes European law and fundamental single market principles by preventing the clearing of some financial products outside the euro area.

"The government wants to see this resolved swiftly and without involving the courts, but if necessary will not shy away from continuing legal action to make sure there is a level playing field across the EU for British businesses."

[Mr Lick]

Ban for India 'affair' actress Nikhita Thukral reversed




The ban on Indian actress Nikhita Thukral from Kannada language films, because of an alleged affair with another actor, has been overturned.

The Kannada Film Producers' Association imposed the three-year ban earlier this week, saying Ms Thukral had spoiled the "domestic harmony of a fellow actor".

But opposition within the film industry convinced producers to reverse the ban.

Ms Thukral denies having an affair with the actor, known as Darshan, a popular action hero in south India.

"Looking back it was a hasty decision. We have written to her expressing regret," the president of the Karnataka Film Producers' Association, Munirathnam, told reporters.

The association initially said the ban would be reconsidered only if she apologised but Ms Thukral refused, insisting she had had no inappropriate relationship with Darshan.

[Mr Lick]

White House 'rushed' loan to solar firm Solyndra




The White House could have rushed approval on a major government-backed loan to a failed solar panel firm for political reasons, say US Republicans.

Solyndra declared bankruptcy this month after laying off 1,100 workers, and was then raided by the FBI.

The company came to prominence when President Barack Obama visited it in May 2010 to promote green business.

The White House denied the loan had been rushed so that Vice-President Joe Biden could attend a groundbreak event.

Several US solar firms have been shuttered in recent weeks, amid a surge of cheaper technology from Chinese manufacturers, combined with falling demand for the energy panels from Europe.



The FBI carried dozens of boxes of evidence from Solyndra's offices in Fremont, California

[Mr Lick]

Employees at the state owned Korea Power Exchange monitor electiricity usage as power cuts continue during a heat wave



2 US rugby fans cheer their team to a 13-6 victory over Russia at the Rugby World Cup in NZ

[Mr Lick]

More than 90 people have been killed caused by the flooding around Thailand in recent weeks



A Yemini man chants slogans against his President

[Mr Lick]

Egyptian steel magnate Ahmed Ezz jailed



Ahmed Ezz (centre) is one of a range of former senior officials to have faced trial


A court in Cairo has sentenced a steel magnate who was closely associated with former President Hosni Mubarak to 10 years in prison for corruption.

Ahmed Ezz, who had denied the charges, was also told he must pay a fine of 660m Egyptian pounds ($111m; £70m).

He was accused of collaborating to grant licences without paying fees.

Amr Assal, former head of Egypt's Industrial Development Authority, was convicted of the same charge and was also given 10 years in jail.

And former Trade and Industry Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid was sentenced to 15 years in absentia.

The trials of the men are part of wider efforts to prosecute those accused of corruption under Mr Mubarak's rule.

Ezz was a senior member of Mr Mubarak's National Democratic Party.

Mr Mubarak himself is on trial on charges of ordering the shooting of protesters and corruption. His sons are also on trial.

The former Egyptian president resigned on 11 February amid a popular uprising.

[Mr Lick]

Indian 'cash for votes' MP Amar Singh freed on bail



A court in India has granted bail to MP Amar Singh, arrested in connection with an alleged cash-for-votes scandal, on health grounds.

Mr Singh is charged with offering cash to other MPs to abstain from taking part in a crucial 2008 confidence vote. He denies the bribery charge.

Days after his arrest, he complained of ill health and was moved to a hospital. He has been given bail until Monday.

Mr Singh belonged to the Socialist Party, a Congress government ally.

Two former opposition MPs were also arrested in connection with the scandal.

Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora were lawmakers with the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the time of the vote.

They are accused of accepting the bribe money. Both men have denied the charge.

[Mr Lick]

New Australian passports allow third gender option




Australians have been given a third choice when describing their gender on passport applications, under new guidelines aimed at removing discrimination.

Transgender people and those of ambiguous sex will be able to list their gender as indeterminate, which will be shown on passports as an X.

People whose gender was different from that of their birth were previously required to have reassignment surgery before they could change their passport to their preferred sex.

An Australian senator, Louise Pratt - whose partner was born female and is now identified as a man - said the reform was a huge step forward.

"There have been very many cases of people being detained at airports by immigration in foreign countries simply because their passports don't reflect what they look like," she told Australian radio.

"It's very distressing, highly inconvenient and frankly sometimes dangerous."

[Mr Lick]

China sentences four to death over Xinjiang attacks



Four members of the Uighur minority have been sentenced to death over attacks in China's restive Xinjiang province, which left 32 people dead.

The men were found guilty of murder, arson and running a terrorist organisation, state media reported.

Two others were jailed for 19 years for their roles in separate incidents in Kashgar and Hotan in July.

[Mr Lick]

Anti-cuts placards at Turner Contemporary






Save EMA? That will be the education maintenance allowance which was cash help for 16-19-year-olds from low income backgrounds who choose to stay in education. The placard failed and the EMA was replaced by a bursary scheme that ministers argued was 'more targeted'

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

Jewish settlers dressed as Palestinian protesters clash with a settler during a drill, held by the settler's security response teams, simulating violence that could erupt ahead of the upcoming Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations September 14, 2011, in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba.



An anti-austerity protester throws a flare during a protest in front of the Italian Parliament building in downtown Rome September 14, 2011. Hundreds of demonstrators protesting against the government's austerity plan clashed with police outside parliament as lawmakers began voting to give final approval to the 54 billion euro package.

[Mr Lick]

Traveller Michael Flynn reacts to having his photograph taken at Dale Farm near Billericay in south east England September 14, 2011. A local authority intends to go ahead with plans to force out 86 families and bulldoze illegally-erected properties at Dale Farm, home to the largest Traveller community in Britain



A defected army soldier (L) and anti-government protesters wave daggers as they perform the traditional Baraa dance during a rally to demand the ouster of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa September 14, 2011.

[Mr Lick]

A woman covers her daughter with a towel as they walk past a crime scene in the municipality of San Nicolas de los Garza, neighboring Monterrey September 14, 2011. Six men were gunned down by unknown assailants in separate incidents in this municipality, local media reported.



A child cries with his grandmother Ding Lou (L), after his father Zhai Guoqiang and mother Li Congli were killed in an axe attack incident in Gongyi, Henan province, China September 14, 2011. Wang Hongbin, 30, attacked two preschoolers and four adults along a street with an axe on Wednesday morning . He had been detained and is suspected to be mentally ill. One of the preschoolers and three of the adults have been confirmed dead, the other two are severely injured, Xinhua News Agency reported.

[Mr Lick]

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney receives a yellow card during the soccer match against Benfica for the Champions League Group C at the Luz stadium in Lisbon September 14, 2011



Suspected loyalists of Muammar Gaddafi flash victory signs inside a jail in Tripoli September 14, 2011

[Mr Lick]

A woman helps children whose tent encampment was sprayed by U.N. Military group CIMO during a demonstration calling for Minustah to leave Haiti, in the Champ de Mars section of Port-au-Prince September 14, 2011.



Carcasses of cows killed in clashes between anti-Gaddafi and pro-Gaddafi forces are seen on the outskirts of Misrata September 14, 2011

[Mr Lick]

A truck carrying villagers drives past on a road as seen from a bunker of U.S. soldiers from Task Force "No Fear" 3rd Platoon, Alpha Company, 2-27 Infantry in Outpost Bari Alai in Kunar, Afghanistan September 14, 2011.



A museum staff member lies in an installation that is part of Tomas Saraceno's Cloud Cities exhibition at Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, September 14, 2011.



An elderly man walks past people exercising in Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro August 18, 2011. World Bank data shows the growth rate of Brazil's older population as many times that of the most developed countries in Europe, projected to equal 14% of the population by 2033, while Copacabana has the largest number of retirees of any neighborhood in the country.

[Mr Lick]

A Night Out on the Town
President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama greet guests at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's 34th annual awards gala at the Washington Convention Center in the nation's capital on Wednesday night.



How Many Lives You Got Left?
Willow, a cat that went missing from her Colorado home five years ago, was recently found in Manhattan and will be reunited with her owners -- all thanks to an identification microchip. Here: The feline in New York City Wednesday.

[Mr Lick]

Poverty Rate in US Shoots Up
Amid news a record 46.2 million Americans were living below the poverty line last year, a man looks through the trash in New York City on Wednesday.



Saying Goodbye to a Fallen Warrior
The casket of Army Spc. Douglas J. Green is pictured during a full-honors burial service at Virginia's Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday. Green, who was from Sterling, Virginia, died while serving in Afghanistan

[Mr Lick]

Gruesome Scene in Mexico
The corpses of a man, right, and a woman hang from a bridge in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, Tuesday. The yellow sign, above, allegedly included a message from the Zetas drug cartel to people who denounce violence on social networks.



Seeing Double
A Thai laborer performs maintenance work on a high-rise building in downtown Bangkok on Thursday.

[Mr Lick]

Flames of Fury
A fire burns as people demonstrate Wednesday in Port-au-Prince against the U.N. mission in Haiti. The protest took place amid outrage over a sexual assault involving foreign troops in Haiti, which was hit by a huge quake in 2010.



Line of Defense
On Wednesday, Jordanian riot police stand guard outside the U.S. Embassy in Amman during a protest against American policies in the Middle East.